


The Man Who Loves You Most

by Katybug1992



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M, Off-screen abuse, female nolan patrick, off-screen neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: Claude adopted Nolan when she was four and she became his entire world.
Relationships: Claude Giroux & Nolan Patrick, Sidney Crosby/Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Comments: 4
Kudos: 109





	The Man Who Loves You Most

1.

Nolan came bounding into the room, her hair falling out of the braid it had managed to stay in all day. Claude was proud of how much his braiding skills had improved over the off-season. He was bent over his suitcase, packing the last of the items he would need for the roadtrip the team was about to head out on.

“When are you gonna back, daddy?” she asked, jumping onto his back.

“Seven days,” Claude replied, reaching behind him and swinging her around to rest her on his hip. 

She lighter than a five year old should be, smaller too, but the pediatrician said it was probably due to the malnourished state she was in when she had arrived at the orphanage.

“Seven days?” her eyes widened and Claude felt a wave a guilt that he couldn’t bring her with him.

“It’ll go by so fast. And you’ll be at Uncle Danny’s, yeah?” Claude pressed a kiss to her temple, “And Carson and Cameron will be there, and Caelan might even come home for the weekend just to see you.”

“But Uncle Danny doesn’t know how to braid my hair.” Nolan whined as Claude walked them to her room, thankful he had packed her bag while she was at school, “And Uncle Danny doesn’t know Miss Suzie.”

“I introduced Uncle Danny to Miss Suzie at Parents’ Night, explained that you stayed with him when I had away games and that he was your guardian when I’m away.” Claude replied gently, setting her down and pulling out a pair of pajamas for her for the night, “And I’m sure you can teach Uncle Danny how to do a braid just like you taught me.”

“But Uncle Danny doesn’t have any Jasmine books!” 

“I’ve already packed your favorite books and your favorite toys and your favorite pjs and outfits,” Claude tried to hide his amusement. He was already mentally preparing himself for the tears that would come when he dropped her off at Danny’s on his way to the airport.

“But Uncle Danny can’t even cook grilled cheese!”

“Guess you’ll just have to eat chicken nuggets for dinner every night.”

“Daddy!” she whined and Claude sighed and helped her get changed before swinging her up and carrying her outside. Walking out onto the patio, he pointed out “their” star.

“Remember what I said last year, baby?” Claude asked, smiling softly as she joined him in pointing at it, “Whenever you miss me, you just look at our star and you tell it all about your day. I’ll be looking at that same star and it’ll tell me everything.”

“Okay, daddy,” Nolan nodded, her head resting on his shoulder.

They stayed outside for a little bit longer, Claude soaking in precious time with his daughter before he would be leaving for the next week.

“Can I sleep with you tonight, daddy,” Nolan mumbled as Claude headed back inside.

“Of course, Princess,” he replied gently, swinging by her room to pick up her Gritty plush - she had named it Hartsy and Danny had lost it. Because Nolan wasn’t the biggest fan of Gritty - no matter how hard the mascot tried - but she loved her Uncle Hartsy. 

Scotty held it over Danny’s head that Danny didn’t have a toy named after him and Danny responded that he didn’t need a toy named after him because Nolan told him repeatedly that he was her favorite uncle.

She tucked herself against him and he softly sang her favorite lullabye and she was out in less than a minute.

+

Sure enough when Claude dropped Nolan off the next morning, there were tears. She clung to him, sobbing, and his heart broke.

“I’ll be home in seven days, Princess,” he whispered, his own tears filling his eyes, “Seven day and I’ll be home, I promise.”

He hugged her tightly and then Danny came over to pull her away, holding on tight as she screeched and held her arms out for Claude, breaking his heart with her cry of “Daddy!!”

“Daddy has to go, Princess,” Danny whispered, trying to sooth the hysterical five year old. He knew this was coming. She did the same thing last year before the first road trip and it usually happened before the longer road trips - especially if they came after long homestands.

Claude ruffled Cameron and Carson’s hair and then hugged Danny and pressed one more kiss to Nolan’s head, whispering, “I love you so much, Princess. I’m gonna be home as soon as possible.”

And Nolan sniffled and pouted as she waved her good-bye, her breaths shaky as her cries died down, tucking her head into Danny’s neck as she watched Claude get back in his car and pull out of the driveway.

And Claude bit his lip as tears fell. Because he hated leaving her and he hated seeing her cry.

He managed to pull it together by the time he got to the airport and checked his phone as he boarded the plane, smiling softly down at the picture Danny sent of Nolan in Cameron’s lap while he read to her.

“How’d drop-off go?” Wayne asked, flopping down into the seat next to Claude.

“It was hard,” Claude replied, “I feel so guilty leaving her. I know she’s always fine in, like, five minutes, but she breaks my heart.”

+

Claude gets back to his room that night to a video from Danny. Nolan was sitting on a patio chair, in Carson’s lap, pointing up at the night sky and telling the star all about her day. Claude saved the video and sent Danny a thank you before running his hand over his face then getting ready for bed. 

2.

Claude’s been nervous about this night all year - introducing his boyfriend to his daughter. He knew Sid was excited to meet her, after a couple of years of them hooking up consistently- and Claude never expected to fall in love with this goose of a man - before Claude told him if they were going to be serious, Nolan needed to meet him. And he was stupid and decided to lump in Danny and the boys as well - since it feel over their Spring Breaks. 

The dinner was set for the night before the Pens came to Philly for their last match up of the season and Claude had decided to just order pizza. 

Surprisingly, Sid arrived before Nolan did. Danny’s boys had taken her to the zoo, saying they needed to make up for time missed while they were at school and had promised to be back by five. It was five fifteen, so clearly they all inherited Danny’s time management skills.

When Claude opened the door, Danny was standing next to a paler than usual Sid, looking very pleased with himself.

“Hey, G,” Danny chirped as he walked into the house.

Claude rolled his eyes and whispered an apology before chastely kissing Sid in greeting and inviting him in.

“The boys will be back with Nolan and probably half of the stuffed animals in the gift shop in about five minutes,” Danny replied, “They hit traffic.”

Claude hummed in response and Danny laughed.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the door swung open and the flurry of energy that was Danny’s boys and Claude’s angel came through.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!!” Nolan chimes excited as she runs to her dad, arms wrapped around plushes of a red panda, a sloth, a manatee, and a lemur (and Claude saw Cameron ducking up the stairs with three more bags) and evidence of chocolate ice cream around her mouth.

“Did you have fun, Princess?” Claude asked, swinging his now eight year old up and resting her on his hip.

“Uh-huh!” Nolan grinned.

“Why don’t you run upstairs and wash your face?” Claude pressed a kiss to her forehead and smiled softly as she ran for the stairs.

When she came back downstairs, she seemed to notice Sid for the first time and - with her dad not in the room - she latched onto her Uncle Danny.

“Tell me about the zoo, Angel?” Danny prompted, getting her attention off of Sid.

Nolan launches into a recap of her day - including that Caelan let her get ice cream twice - and all the animals they saw and the books Cameron bought her and the pictures Carson took. Danny had to remind her to take breaths occasionally and Claude called Caelan a push over when Caelan tried to defend himself against the twin disapproving looks from his dad and G.

When she finished, she seemed to remember the stranger in the house and she clammed up again and tried to hide her face in Danny’s neck.

“Nolan, can you please come here?” Claude asked gently, squatting down a couple feet in front of Sid.

Nolan slowly got up and walked over to her dad, who took both her hands and looked into her eyes as he said, “You know those bedtime stories I used to tell you? About the father and daughter who lived happily in the village?”

“Uh-huh,” Nolan nodded, eyes fixed on her dad.

“And then the dad meets someone in the square and later finds out that it was the Prince?”

“And then he’s really mad because the Prince lied to him and hurt him.”

“But then the Prince apologizes and makes up for it.”

“And they lived happily ever after.”

“That’s right,” Claude smiled softly, turning Nolan to face Sid, “Nolan, this is daddy’s prince, Sidney Crosby. You can call him Sid, if you want.”

“Does he have a castle?” Nolan looked over at Claude, “Because only the best princes have their own castles. The deadbeat princes live with their parents.”

“Who told -” Danny cut himself off and cuffs Carson on the back of the head.

“Well, his house in Pittsburgh is pretty big.” Claude responded.

“I won’t have to go to Pittsburgh, right?” Nolan asked, saying Pittsburgh with as much disgust as an eight year old could muster - a true child of Claude Giroux.

“No,” Claude laughed lightly, tapping her nose, “his house in Cole Harbour is pretty castle-sized, too. Small castle.”

“I guess that counts.” she nodded, turning her blue eyes to look at Sid, “Do you love my daddy?”

“I do,” Sidney replied with a smile and Claude felt his heart flutter. It wasn’t the first time he had heard it but it was the most important. Because Nolan looked at him carefully for another couple seconds before she nodded.

“I guess you’ll do,” Nolan responded. Turning to look at Claude she asked, “Can I go play outside until dinner?”

“The pizzas should be here in five minutes,” Claude replied, “but we’re gonna build a fire and do s’mores after.”

“Really?!” her eyes were huge and her smile matched.

“Yes,” Claude replied, “but before we eat, let’s go do something about your hair.”

Claude snickered a bit at Sid’s panicked look at being left alone with Brieres.

+

When they came back downstairs, Sid was pale again and the Briere boys were all looking far too smug and Danny was looking like he was trying to contain his pride as he set up the pizzas on the counter.

But Claude had gotten Nolan into a clean sweater that would keep her warm in the spring chill outside and her dark hair wrangled into a braid and that was becoming a feat unto itself these days and Claude felt like he was getting a glimpse into her teens and he was not excited about that.

And he tried not to grin too big when Nolan scrambled into the chair next to Sid - though that could have been because it was the chair next to Caelan - who smirked triumphantly at his brothers.

Dinner went as smooth as dinners with the Brieres ever did, which means it was slight chaos. And Sid looked thrown off, even though Claude had warned him. 

And it was when they were outside, Sid helping Nolan roast her marshmallow perfectly, that Claude was hit with how much he loved Sid and how perfectly Sid could fit in with him and Nolan. 

+

Claude quietly shut Nolan’s bedroom door and headed to his bedroom, where Sid was propped against the headboard, looking at his phone.

“She asleep?” Sid asked, putting the phone down.

“As soon as her head hit the pillow,” Claude laughed softly, changing into his own pjs, “Almost fell asleep while she was brushing her teeth.”

“She’s a good kid,” Sid smiled softly, “and completely spoiled.”

“I tried not to but Danny and the boys ruined that plan,” Claude grinned because climbing up the bed and kissing Sid deeply.

“I’m not complaining,” Sid blinked at him, “but what was that for?”

“Nolan likes you,” Claude replied, “I was so worried. It takes her time to warm up to people, but she likes you. Because you make me happy. Because I love you.”

“I love you, too, Claude,” Sid responded, kissing him, “and your daughter… she’s… she’s amazing.”  
And Claude had to kiss him again.

3.

Claude almost didn’t want to ask Sid when it was clear that the Flyers were going to make the play-offs and the Penguins weren’t. But then Sid asked him if he wanted him to stay home with Nolan during the Play-offs and Claude was so relieved. He was gratefully for Danny during the season but it was nice to be able to come straight home after the games and not have to make a stop.

The Flyers squeaked past Washington, battled past Boston, blew past Toronto, then won the last four straight against Colorado on home ice and Claude was lifting the Cup. As soon as he passed the Cup off to Jake, he spotted Sid standing next to Nolan - swimming in one of his spare jerseys with her dark hair braided, orange ribbons woven into it. She had his number painted on her cheeks and she was reaching for him before he even reached her.

Any other day, she would tell him that she was ten and was too old to be carried. But tonight she threw her arms around his neck as he lifted her and laughed brightly as he swung her around. Claude and Sid shared a look and then grinned and shared a kiss, ignoring all the cameras. After all, now everyone knew why Sid had spent the playoffs with Claude’s kid.

Nolan didn’t let go of Claude until she had to, staying at his side for every interview. She only left his side when Jake and Coots - separately - stopped by and swung her up.

+

A couple weeks later, after Claude’s day with the Cup, he and Sid released a joint statement announcing their retirement. They were both getting up there and genuinely didn’t think they had another full season left in them. And Nolan was about to enter her pre-teens and Claude wanted to be there for all that that entailed. He didn’t want to miss anymore of her growing up.

They released the statement and then hid away in Cole Harbour.

\+ 

A couple days later, Claude was sitting out on the deck reading when Nolan came outside and sat next to him.

“Daddy?” she asked looking over at him.

“Yeah, Princess?” Claude asked, giving her his full attention.

“Remember those bedtime stories you used to tell me?”

“Yes. What about them?”

“Well, I think it’s time for the Prince to really join the family.”

“What do you mean, Nolan? Sid is part of the family. He’s even moving to Philly with us.”

It was what made the most sense for them. Nolan didn’t make friends easily so making her move schools wasn’t going to be something Claude wanted to put her through. And she was very attached to her uncles, especially Danny. And Claude was pretty attached to them as well - Lord only knew what he would have done without Danny.

“Claude,” Sid walked over and dropped to one knee in front of Claude’s chair, “I would be honored if you let me be part of your family, officially. Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Claude breathed out, nodding quickly.

Sid grinned and slipped the ring onto Claude’s finger, kissing him chastely, before presenting Nolan with a simple gold locket.

+

When the wedding finally came the following Summer, Sid had a separate set of vows he wrote for Nolan. And when they shared their first dance, they had Nolan join them halfway through.

4.

Way too soon Claude and Sid were packing up Nolan’s room and driving her to Boston University to move her in. And Claude tried to fill the car with chatter to hide how much he hated this. 

And when they were getting ready to leave, Claude hugged her tightly, “Remember what I used to tell you?”

“That whenever I need you, I can tell our star and our star will get the message to you.”

“I’m so proud of you, kiddo,” Claude pulled her into one last hug, kissing her temple, before letting Sid pull him out of the dorm room before Claude started crying again.

“You doing okay, Clo?” Sid asked gently as they started the drive back home.

“I can’t believe she’s in college,” Claude replied, “I remember the day I met her like yesterday. I threw all my clout and money to speed up the adoption process to get her out of there. The home was so underfunded and overcrowded. And she had been in a corner, clutching a book and looking terrified. They thought she was deaf because she never really acknowledged when she was being talked to and she never verbally responded. They were surprised when I went over and started talking to her, she handed me the book and asked me softly to read to her. That’s when I knew. She was meant to be mine. I made that orphanage my project, it’s a much better place now, but…. It took so long for her to come out of her shell. Who she is today? I’m so proud of her. She’s my proudest accomplishment.”

“I know she is,” Sid shot him a grin, “You know… there are benefits to having an empty nest.”

“And we can talk about those after I get used to her not being there.”

Sid huffed out a laugh and grabbed Claude’s hand, kissing his husband’s knuckles.

+

Claude should have known something wasn’t right. Nolan began calling less, not responded to texts, she went from occasionally posting on her socials to never. He should have known his daughter wasn’t okay. He should have known when she didn’t come home for Fall Break and then for Thanksgiving Break - saying she had a lot of schoolwork and wanted to take advantage of the empty library.

But it was only when he was standing on the train platform to pick her up for her Winter Break and he saw her for the first time since dropping her off. She had lost too much weight and her eyes were sunken in and dull. And….was that a bruise on her neck?

And when she saw him, she dropped her suitcase and bag and flung herself at him, choking out a sob as soon as her face was tucked into his neck. And he tightened his arms around her as she sobbed, his heart clenching as she started muttering “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, daddy” into his neck.

Claude just clutched her harder, whispering, “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“You don’t know that!” she all but wailed. She took a few shaky breaths before asking in a quiet voice, “Can we just go home?”

“Yeah, of course,” Claude replied, going to where she dropped her stuff to pick it and kept his arm around her as they walked to the car.

She was silent the whole ride home and when they got home she went right up to her room and closed the door firmly behind her. And Claude had a bad feeling. He texted Sid to pick up some peppermint ice cream and oatmeal cookies on his way home

“What’s wrong?” Sid asked softly as he got home and entered the kitchen.

“I don’t know. She broke down at the train station but she…. She looks awful, Sid. And I don’t think I’m imagining that she has a bruise on her neck. She’s been in her room since we got home.”

“Have you tried talking to her yet?”

“No. I checked on her, like, ten minutes ago, and she was sleeping.”

Sid wrapped his arms around Claude and let his husband cling to him, knowing how much Claude hated not being able to fix whatever was wrong. Not being able to help Nolan.

“I knew something was wrong,” Claude muttered into Sid’s chest.

“And you’ll go up there when she’s awake and talk to her and help her fix it.” Sid replied

+

When Claude heard movement, he headed upstairs. 

“Come in,” Nolan’s voice was soft when she responded to his knock.

And it took everything in Claude not to get angry when he saw her. Because that was definitely a bruise. Multiple bruises. There was one on her jaw, two what could be hand shaped bruises on her wrists, and - most concerning - a clear hand shaped bruise on her neck.

“Nolan,” he breathed out, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

“There’s more,” Nolan choked out, leaning against her dad as he sat down next to her.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked gently.

“I met this guy, and I thought he was really sweet,” Nolan choked out, tears welling up again, “But he wasn’t. He was an asshole and I was so scared. But I didn’t know what to do. My.. my roommate said to report him but they didn’t do anything. He’s the son of a powerful alumni and so I didn’t matter. And I really don’t wanna go back, dad. I don’t. I’m so scared.”

Claude hugged her to him tightly, processing her words, before taking a shaky breath, “You don’t have to go back. You’re not going back. I’ll have movers clear out your dorm and we’ll pull you out. We’ll start the process tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, daddy,” Nolan curled herself into him and he tightened his hold on her.

“You never have to thank me, Princess,” he whispered.

5.

Nolan had enrolled at UPenn the following fall semester and Claude took the offered Coach position the Flyers offered him. 

It had taken a while for Nolan to be comfortable with the idea of returning to school. She talked to her therapist about it every week, she talked to her dads about it pretty regularly. But she wanted to try to get back to normal. And she was fitting in well at UPenn, had even made a couple friends. And Claude was happy to see her happy again.

He also loved her being in Philly. He glanced over as she came out of the tunnel to stand behind the bench, casually leaning against the board and watching practice. He was always a little sad that she didn’t want to actually play hockey - she had a such a high hockey IQ that she would have been a beast. But at least she liked to skate and she still liked to skate with Claude.

And Claude hung his head and sighed when TK - a rookie that Claude saw a lot of himself in - tripped over himself…. And then was filled with dread when he realized why TK had tripped over himself. And when he looked over at Nolan, she was trying to hide her face behind her hair and was biting back a smile.

And Carson - now proudly wearing his dad’s number and an A for the Flyers - gave Claude a wide-eyed look, almost pleading, like the one he gave Claude when he wanted him to tell him that what he was seeing wasn’t actually happening.

Claude made a note to keep an eye on THAT and made his way to the bench.

“How were midterms?” he asked.

“They went well,” Nolan nodded, “My Stats professor is very impressed by my progress on my semester project on how Analytics and Stats are sometimes at odds and not necessarily a good indicator of a player’s worth - across sports.”

“You didn’t tell me that that was what you did your project on,” Claude’s eyebrows rose.

“Because I know how you feel about Analytics,” Nolan grinned, “Although, now, my professor wants me to major in Stats and that’s not gonna happen.”

“Where do you want to go for your Midterms-Are-Over lunch? And we’re not getting soft pretzels from Wawa.”

Nolan laughed brightly in response before saying, “That little bistro close to Uncle Danny’s house?”

“You got it,” Claude grinned, ruffling her hair before rejoining practice.

“Princess,” Carson grinned as he skated over under the guise of getting some water.

“Carson,” she responded, giving him a warning look.

“Looking awfully put together for someone who was too busy this week studying to take meet her favorite people at Geno’s for dinner.”

“I don’t remember cancelling plans with Jake or Sean.”

“Brat,” Carson laughed, squirting her with water before taking a puck off Claude and heading to the net.

And Claude pretended not to notice that TK seemed to be showing off a little for the remainder of practice. And he definitely pretended not to notice that Nolan seemed to be watching TK show off for the remainder of practice.

+

When practice had ended and Claude was walking out of the locker room, he stopped short at the sight of Nolan leaning against the wall, letting TK talk at her. And that…. That was not normal. 

“Ready to go, Kid?” Claude asked.

Nolan nodded and waved to TK before looping her arm through Claude’s and pulling him out to the car, “Come on, dad, Sid’s meeting us.”

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?” Claude muttered, looking over his shoulder at the rookie.

“I ran into Travis when I was out with some friends. He was nice.” Nolan responded, “Do you need me to drive so you can process?”

“No,” Claude gave her a glare in response, “I was just surprised. You normally don’t like people who can’t shut up.”

“Can we please change the subject?” Nolan asked, verging on a whine, as they got to the car.

“For now,” Claude replied, “but you know Carson’s gonna mention it. And he’s gonna wait until Thanksgiving dinner, where he can mention it not only in front of his brothers, but in front of Danny, and Jake, and Sean, and Wayne, and Sid - not to mention Flower, Geno, and Tanger.”

“He won’t if he knows what’s good for him,” Nolan muttered, flaring out her window, “I have a treasure trove of photos of him that I will break my Insta aesthetic to post.”

Claude chuckled in response.

6.

He should have seen this coming. Nolan had been showing up at more practices. TK was texting more than he usually did - Claude had never met a young person so adverse to technology.

And, yet, Nolan managed to catch him completely off guard when when she calmly told him and Sid over dinner that Travis was taking her out after she got out of classes on Friday. And Claude opened his mouth respond but bit his tongue as Sid grabbed his knee. It was a big deal for Nolan to be going on a date, an even bigger deal that she was telling them. It was a big deal that she felt comfortable around TK.

And yet…

“Clo, come on,” Sid pulled him down onto the couch, “Nolan will call us when she gets back to the dorm.”

“I know that Travis is a good kid,” Claude replied, “But…”

“But she’s your little girl,” Sid smiled softly, arranging himself against the arm of the car and pulling Claude between his legs to rest his back to his chest.

Claude had had a chat with Travis the day after Nolan told him she was going on a date with the rookie. Had explained that Nolan was his entire world, the only thing that mattered to him, and Travis had better treat her that way. Not because she was his coach’s daughter, but because she was a remarkable young woman who had the world at her feet and Claude wasn’t going to let anyone make her lose her way.

+

His phone going off woke him up, almost banging his head against Sid’s as he scrambled for it, ignoring his husband’s grumbling about how they were too old to sleep on the couch.

“Hey, Kid,” Claude breathed out as he answered the phone, trying to sound casual, “how was your night?”

“It was really nice.” Nolan responded, “He picked me up from my dorm room with a bouquet of sunflowers. Took me for sushi and then ice cream.”

“You like him?” Claude bit his lip, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, I do,” Nolan’s voice was soft and fond and Claude knew she was smiling. 

And that was enough for him, “I’m happy for you, Princess.”

7.

Travis had been more fidgety than usual, which was saying something. He may not be a rookie anymore, going into his sophomore season, but he had started getting nervous around Claude and Carson - which he hadn’t done since his Rookie Year, shortly after he and Nolan had gotten together. But Claude figured that he would speak up when he was ready, though he had a feeling of what it would be. TK and Nolan had gotten pretty serious - especially since Nolan had spent two weeks during the off-season at Travis’ cabin with him.

But it still threw him off guard when TK asked him if he could have a minute.

“What’s up, Travis?” Claude asked when they were in his office, door shut.

“Nolan wouldn’t want me to do this, but your opinion means a lot to me and it means everything to her, so know that I have your blessing would mean a lot.” Travis started in a rush before pulling a box out of his pocket, “I want to ask Nolan to marry me.”

And Claude sat there in shock for a minute before saying, “You already got a ring?”

“It was my great-grandmother’s,” Travis replied, “I asked my mom for it before coming back to Philly. Just….just in case.”

“Look, Travis,” Claude fixed him with a look, “I like you. You’re a good kid. But, more importantly, my daughter likes you. She doesn’t like a lot of people, but she likes you. She thinks you’re something special and you make her happy. And as long as you continue to make her happy, you’re okay.”

“So...do I have your blessing?” Travis bit his lip.

“Yeah, you have my blessing.” Claude smiled softly as TK grinned and stood up, leaving the office.

“You okay, G?” Carson asked, popping his head into the office.

“Yeah,” Claude found himself replying honestly, “Now, come on, Captain, we’re meeting your dad for lunch.”

“We are?” Carson asked.

“Yup.”

Carson just shrugged and followed Claude.

+

The first game of the Season arrived and the first W was added to the column. And when Claude existed the locker room, accepting Sid’s congratulatory cheek kiss (and promise of much more when then they got home and away from the cameras) and hugged Nolan - who wasn’t wearing his jersey. For the first time, she was at a game in a jersey that didn’t have his number on it. Instead, the number was 11 and the name “Konecny” was printed across her back. And Claude needed a minute. 

He hadn’t told anyone about the conversation he had with Travis. Sid was still getting used to Travis as her boyfriend and Claude hadn’t wanted to tell him that Travis was gonna be around for a while. That was a conversation for when Sid was very happy. 

“Hey,” Nolan’s face broke into a grin when TK came out of the room, “Good game, First Star.”

Travis laughed delightedly and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around. 

When her feet were back on the ground, she kissed him, both of them blushing when they pulled apart and remembered where they were.

“We’re gonna be stuck with him, aren’t we?” Sid asked Claude softly, taking in the way Nolan was looking at Travis.

“I have something to tell you later.” Claude responded with a small smile.

+

Claude beamed with pride as Carson lifted the Cup over his head - first year as Captain, first Cup under his belt - and looked over at Danny, who was crying. 

And his eyes found Nolan standing next to her Uncle Danny, wearing Conn Smyth winner Travis Konecny’s jersey. 

“Congrats, Coach,” she grinned when he made his way over, throwing her arms around him.

“Thank you, Princess,” Claude hugged her tightly, only separating from her to kiss his husband.

“Dad!” Carson skated over after pulling himself away from his teammates, looking like a crazy person as he hugged his dad and laughing as his brothers jumped onto them. Pulling away from them after a minute, he pulled Nolan into a hug and whispered, “Your boy’s looking for you.”

“Congrats, Cars,” Nolan pressed a kiss to his cheek and quickly found Travis.

And they watched as Travis said something to her that made her freeze, then watched him sink down to one knee and Nolan nodding before he even got a word out.

“Congrats, G,” Carson grinned at her, “Another Cup AND a son-in-law on the same day.”

Claude laughed in response and pulled him in for a hug, “Congrats, Cap. I’m proud of you.”

“All those years of you coaching me really paid off,” Carson grinned, “I’ve heard my backhand is almost as lethal as yours.”

And Claude laughed in response, eyes looking back over at Nolan - who was smiling down at the ring on her finger and wrapped up in TK’s arms.

“He’s okay,” Sid wrapped his arms around Claude, “That’s all I’m willing to give him, though.”

And Claude laughed before pressing a kiss to Sid’s jaw, “He’s a good guy. I couldn’t picture Nolan with anyone else.”

“I could have introduced her to a couple of the Pens Rookies.” Sid grinned.

“My daughter would never date anyone who was a Pens fan, let alone played for them.”

And Sid threw his head back and laughed.

8.

Claude couldn’t believe this day had arrived. But there they were, at the house in Cole Harbour. Nolan dressed in an elegant white gown and ready for him to walk her down the aisle.

“Ready, daddy?” she asked, fidgeting with the ivory rose and sunflower bouquet in her hands.

“No,” Claude replied honestly, “I’ve been dreading this day.”

Nolan smiled softly in response and threw her arms around him, “I love you, daddy.”

“No one will ever love you more than me, Princess,” Claude hugged her tightly before pulling back and carefully lowered her veil, “But I guess Travis can come in second.”

Claude made it through the ceremony with minimal tears and gripping Sid’s hand tightly.

But seeing Nolan happy….it made it worth it. Because Nolan’s happiness was always the most important thing for Claude. 

She was the most important thing in his life, she was what he was proudest of. And he loved her more than anything else in the world.


End file.
